The disgrace thus cast upon the French arms, and that, too, in a country which he in person had won, could not fail to exasperate a young and warlike sovereign. When Lautrec returned to his native land, the king refused to admit him to his presence; but at last, through the intercession of his sister, and of the Constable de Bourbon, the vanquished general obtained an audience. He was received with a frowning countenance; and he boldly complained of his reception. “Is it possible for me,” said Francis, sternly, “to look favourably on a man who is guilty of having lost my duchy of Milan?” Nowise daunted by this rebuff, Lautrec firmly replied, “I will dare to assert, that your majesty is the sole cause of that loss. For eighteen months your gendarmes had not a single farthing of pay. The Swiss, with whose disposition as to money you are well acquainted, were also left unpaid. It was solely by my management that they were retained for several months with my army. There would have been no reason for wonder had they quitted it without drawing their swords; their respect for me induced them, however, not to desert me till after a sanguinary combat. They compelled me to give battle, though I foresaw clearly that there was no hope of victory; but, in my circumstances, prudence dictated to risk every thing, however little chance there might appear that our efforts would be successful. The whole of my crime amounts to this.” The astonishment of Francis was excited by this speech of Lautrec. “What!” exclaimed he, “did you not receive the four hundred thousand crowns, which I ordered to be sent to you soon after your arrival at Milan?” “No, Sire,” answered Lautrec; “your majesty’s letters came to hand, but no money was forwarded to me; nor did it ever pass the Alps.” Semblançai was immediately summoned into his presence by Francis, to account for such an extraordinary violation of his duty. In his defence, the superintendant stated, that the duchess, vested with authority as regent, had demanded from him the four hundred thousand crowns, and that he held her receipt for the sum. Irritated by this unexpected discovery, Francis hastened to his mother’s apartment, and reproached her for conduct which had cost him a part of his dominions. The duchess is said to have begun her reply by a denial of the fact. She was, however, ultimately compelled to own that she had indeed obtained four hundred thousand crowns from Semblançai; but she artfully pretended, that she had previously confided the money to his care, and that it was the produce of savings from her income. Semblançai, on the contrary, strenuously protested that she had never entrusted any thing to his keeping, and that, when she drew from him the funds in question, he had told her that they were set apart by the king for the service of the forces in Italy.